Four-alarm fire
by demented-fool
Summary: Post 4x11 - Assuming Shaw got captured by Samaritan and somehow managed to escape some months later. Happy ending fic for all our broken hearts.


John was sitting at Finch's computer desk on their lair when he heard Bear suddenly moving towards the entrance.

He turned, confused (because Finch and Root were still out, taking the second number of the day to a safe house), and one second later he got his gun out and ready and was in full-alert mode.

"Hey John." – said a familiar voice, coming out of the shadows followed by a very happy Bear.

"Sameen?" – After the initial shock, the usually stony face begun cracking one of the most honest smiles Shaw has seen on her knee-cap shooting partner. She herself was trying to contain herself, so all she showed was a lopsided grin that she usually saved for moments when she felt like being a little shit.

"You look like crap." – He stated, finally moving from his spot and making his way to Shaw's personal space. He saw a couple of scars on her face and neck, some fresher than others.

"Yeah, well, I didn't exactly stay at a 5 star hotel all this time." – She answered, letting John give her a hug.

He eventually let go of her and asked:

"How many bodies did you left behind?"

"Several. Though that bitch Martine was nowhere to be seen, which is a shame, I wanted payback for each scar she left me with…" – She said, leaning down and giving all her attention to the dog.

"Ah, Martine…" – Reese said, recollecting something but Shaw didn't notice and kept talking.

"Yeah. She said you guys were looking for me, so they kept moving me from place to place."

"Yes, we knew you were still alive. And we eventually crossed paths with Martine but she wasn't very cooperative, even with Root's … persuasion techniques." – Reese said, his smile faltering as he remembered those desperate weeks after Shaw was left behind in the stock market facility.

"So I'm guessing the bitch is dead." – Shaw said, standing up, her heart somehow feeling tight when she heard Root's name.

"Oh yes. Root took good care of that." – John said, Root's vengeful face coming back to his mind.

"Where is she by the way? And Finch?" – Shaw asked, getting weirdly impatient now. She'd been away being tortured for months, she could surely wait a bit more to see Root.

John begun making his way back to Finch's desk as he spoke:

"Taking care of a number right now. "

"And what the hell are you doing with your ass in here?" - Shaw asked, following him and sitting on the corner of the table, picking up one of Bear's squeaky toys and throwing them to the other side of the platform.

"Desk duty. I had a number of my own too but resolved the situation before them. So unless they need me in the field…"

"You're stuck here. Ah, this should be fun, watching you die of boredom." – She said, getting off the table and looking around the lair, feeling somewhat comfortable and satisfied to see the familiar walls.

Reese took the opportunity to get his phone out and send a text to Finch, not wanting to use the comms in case they were busy and ending up distracting them. This way they could read the news when they had the time.

**J: Shaw is back.**

A couple seconds later he got the answer:

**H: This is indeed marvelous news! Is she all right? **

**J: A few scars but yes, she looks fine. **

**H: Give her a comm, Lurch. I need to speak with her. **

John stared at this phone screen.

**J: Next time you hijack a phone to ask for a favor, it wouldn't hurt to be polite.**

**H: John, would you _please_ give Miss Shaw a comm, Root is growing impatient and I'm getting slightly worried for my well-being.**

**J: Fine.**

John picked up a comm from the table and went looking for Shaw. He found her in the armory room, checking out the new guns.

"This is some neat stuff man." – She said, picking up a semi-automatic and aiming it at the opposite wall.

"Here, your girlfriend wants to talk to you." – John said, clearly amused at Shaw's reaction of his word use. She put the gun down carefully, sighed, and rolled her eyes as she fit the comm in the right ear. She clicked it.

"Hey Root. Missed me?" – She asked, unexpectedly feeling excited at the thought of hearing Root's annoying voice again.

"Honey, you have no idea." – Came the predictable perky psycho's response. Root's voice was in full flirty mode, no excitement being hold back.

_Man, I can't believe I like this idiot._

Her face threatened to open up in a huge smile but Shaw contained it, because John was still in the room, his arms crossed and his eyes displaying a curious glow in it.

"Need help with the number?" – She asked after cleaning her throat. _Keep cool, Shaw._

"Why, can't wait to put your eyes on me?" – Root asked back, managing to embarrass Shaw once again. She shook her head. She missed this, she actually missed this.

John eventually made his way out of the armory and left Shaw alone.

"You did say I was hot after all." – Root said, taking advantage of Shaw's short silence.

Shaw cursed herself. She knew Root would use that against her someday. But she also was thrown back to their last moments together and her heart did that _thing_ again.

"Yeah, I guess I did." – She admitted, before Root could try and mention the kiss too.

"That doesn't mean I want to go horse-back riding with you though." – She immediately added, surprised to see no hostility in her response. _Man,_ _I'm getting soft._

"I know that. It's not really my thing either. But you did talk about a really good steak place once." – Root said, her flirty tone less aggressive now.

Shaw hesitated.

"You should've seen what I did to the Samaritan's agents that I found." – Root said her voice now incredibly low and raspy.

Shaw bit her lip.

"We'll talk when you get back. Don't take all day though, I'm hungry." – She said, cleaning her throat again and letting out a long exhale. She hated how easily Root turned her on.

_God damnit Root._

* * *

><p>John waited a couple more minutes for Shaw to finish her talk with Root to go look for her again. He wanted to know details from her capture, and fill her out on the news of their plans against Samaritan.<p>

He founded her still on the armory room, putting their newly acquired punching bag to good use.

"I can see the conversation went well." – John quipped, taking of his jacket, pulling his shirt's sleeves up and holding the bag for Shaw.

"Yeah – well – she's a pain – in the ass." – She said between punches.

John smiled.

"Hey – are you even – holding this – thing – properly?" – Shaw mocked, the strength of her punches rising up, making Reese having a hard time to keep up with her. "Hold it - like a – man!"

John stabilized himself more, finally giving some real support. Then he smiled, and said:

"It's good to have you back Sameen."

* * *

><p>Over an hour later, both mayhem twins were laying down comfortably on the carriage's seats.<p>

They were both exhausted from the work out, that proved itself to be especially tiring as they tried to catch up at the same time about the past few months events.

Bear rose from the spot he was sitting at, making Shaw's hand hang in the air. She sat up and followed the dog with her eyes as he went away.

John sat up too, pulling his shirt's sleeves down.

"They're here." – He said, clearly talking about Root and Finch.

Shaw suddenly felt anxious, a feeling she rarely had to deal with. She stood up and leaned on the carriage's door, trying to look indifferent, while Reese decided to keep sitting inside.

The first one to appear in sight was Finch, with his usual limper. He spotted Shaw and smiled, waving shortly at her. Then Root appeared behind him, her eyes scanning the room anxiously. She immediately spotted Shaw and her smile grew so bright, Shaw found herself somewhat reciprocating it.

Surprisingly enough, Finch was the first one to reach her and stop in front of her, pondering if it was a wise idea to hug the agent. Shaw decided to make it easy for him and patted his left arm clumsily and said:

"Good to see ya, Finch."

"Likewise, Miss Shaw. I'm happy to know you're safe and sound." – He responded.

Root caught up with Finch (she had slowed her pace so that she could have her moment with Shaw after everybody had had theirs) and also stopped a meter away from the carriage's entrance. Besides, she needed her time to grasp her feelings.

Finch sensed the tension in the air, looked around, found Reese sitting inside and said:

"Mister Reese, I'd like to talk to you about a new number." - John frowned in confusion, rising up and following Finch to his desk.

Root, on the other hand, had a knowing smirk on her face. She knew full well there was no new number yet.

_Thank you Harold._

Shaw didn't move from where she was leaning, but her arms came up and she crossed them defensively, as if to prepare herself for what was to come.

They took some seconds staring at each other, neither of them moving, and both with close-knitted smiles on their faces. Root took a step forward and then hesitated before taking the second one, that would close the space between her and Shaw.

One thing was flirting with her via comm with Harold by her side slightly embarrassed, another was wanting to kiss her for 5 minutes and having both him and Reese around. She looked back at Finch's desk and found them fixated on the computer screens.

_Good_ – She thought.

When she looked back at Shaw, though, no more steps were needed to take. Shaw had taken the opportunity herself and was now grabbing Root's jacket, bringing her slightly closer to her height. Root detected desire in her eyes, and congratulated herself for knowing how to put Shaw in that state. Fair enough, Shaw was still thinking about their conversation over the comm and her feelings rose exponentially as she saw Root walk towards her after all this time, with that infuriating beautiful face.

"You'll need to stop using high-heeled boots." – Shaw demanded seriously, before planting a kiss on Root's lips. Shaw let the kiss linger for a few seconds before starting to push back but Root had other plans. Her arms had snaked around Shaw's waist, one of them staying there and the other making its way up her back and finally settling in Shaw's cheek, making it possible for Root to push Shaw back in for a more hungry, desperate kiss.

Shaw gave in, her hands leaving the front of Root's jacket and settling on her waist. As Root's tongue made an active appearance, Shaw's desire escalated so much she automatically pushed away, knowing damn well they couldn't this now.

Both of them stayed in the embrace for a couple more seconds though, panting.

"So, about that steak…" – Root suggested with a smile.

Shaw's mind raced with the possibilities. Did she really want that steak now? Honestly all she wanted was to take Root right there, right now.

She let Root go.

"Hey John!" – She called. Root had a questioning look on her face and poked Shaw, asking for answers.

Shaw ignored Root and when Reese looked back at her from the desk, she asked:

"Don't you need to go and check on this 'new number'?" - She asked. Root smiled as soon as she understood what Shaw's intentions were.

"…Eventually, yes." – He answered, surrendering to the ridiculous situation he found himself in. He looked at Finch in a disgruntled way.

"Think you could pass by Bob's Steak House and bring a couple steaks on your way back from recon? Take Finch would you; he knows exactly how I like them." – She suggested.

Reese had two options. Giving in or embarrassing Sameen and tell them to get a room instead.

They knew damn well they were playing a game and he didn't feel like taking orders from Shaw even if she was M.I.A for so long.

He was about to send the retort back when Harold grabbed his arm and spoke for him instead:

"We were actually just going out to check the number's place Miss Shaw. We will try to bring you dinner if possible." – And so he stared at Reese until he gave in and stood up, following him to the exit.

"I'm taking the dog." – Reese stated, in a way that implied he knew what was about to happen on the underground and didn't want Bear around for it.

And with that, they were gone.

Shaw turned back to face Root, who was smiling like an idiot.

"Care to explain what just happened?" – She asked, knowing the answer full well but wanting to test Shaw's patience.

"I feel like witnessing a four-alarm fire here before dinner." – She said, teasing right back.

Root's smile widened before slowly disappearing as Shaw made her way back to her personal space. She pushed her against the carriage's outside wall less violently than Root expected and closed their distance with another fiery kiss.

Root broke the kiss a few seconds later just to say: "Sounds cozy."


End file.
